Barring a trade beforehand, Kirk Cousins will be on the field inside U.S. Bank Stadium next season when the Atlanta Falcons and Minnesota Vikings meet in a primetime Week 2 matchup.
But unlike last year's contest in the Twin Cities between the Falcons and Vikings, Cousins won't be in the starting lineup. Instead, he'll be getting paid an insane amount of money to sit on the bench and watch Michael Penix Jr. attempt to lead Atlanta to a victory. It will be a lot like how Cousins used to treat Tuesdays during his tenure with Minnesota.
After losing his starting job to Penix near the end of the 2024 campaign, some figured Cousins was going to be on the move this offseason. But, to the surprise of many, the Falcons have decided to keep the former Minnesota quarterback on their roster, despite his $40 million cap hit in 2025.
Will the Atlanta Falcons trade former Minnesota Vikings QB Kirk Cousins before the start of the 2025 season?
Before this year's NFL Draft, there were a few teams that seemed like possible landing spots for Cousins if Atlanta was able to figure out a trade. It wasn't that large of a list to begin with, and then after the draft, all of those potential landing spots essentially disappeared.
With a no-trade clause in his contract, Cousins will have the final say on whether he gets traded or not this year. There have already been reports that he probably wouldn't approve a deal in the middle of the 2025 campaign, so if the Falcons are going to move him elsewhere, it needs to happen before the start of the upcoming season.
At this point, the odds seem to be the highest that Cousins will walk onto U.S. Bank Stadium for Atlanta's Week 2 matchup against the Vikings as a No. 2 quarterback. That's likely not his ideal outcome, but at least he'll be able to soak up any tears of his with the $27.5 million in cash he's due to make in 2025.
